uWink Bistro Blog

PROBLEM: A group of deaf/hard-of-hearing customers walk into a restaurant. They cannot hear the waiters/waitresses nor do the waiters/waitresses know sign language. Even if they are reading lips, the waiter/waitress might be speaking too fast or unknowingly speak while they are not looking. All in all, my point is it’s an uncomfortable situation for them and may cause many in the deaf/hard-of-hearing community to refrain from eating out at restaurants.

uWink Solution: Put the power of ordering in the customer’s hands. The problem of not understanding the waiter/waitress disappears since all orders for food and drinks can be placed with the touch of a finger using the touch screen terminal at each table. Even food and drink modifications can be made with a few simple touches. Need more napkins, drop your fork on the floor and need another one, need some condiments? All those options and more are right there at your fingertips. All this provides an empowering experience for a deaf/hard-of-hearing customer. And to top if off, they can even enjoy the social game experience since all room games are played using the touch screen terminals at the table in combination with the wall projections throughout the restaurant displaying each game’s winners. Even more satisfying to us is when we see the big, bright smile of a young kid who is deaf/hard-of-hearing who has just placed his/her own order or played a room game. The look of empowerment on the kid’s face is priceless.

That’s Service. That’s a uWink Solution.

We can’t end this post without mentioning a great organization we have been getting feedback from lately on this topic. The organization is GLAD (The Greater Los Angeles Agency on Deafness, Inc.) We will be attending their 6th annual GLAD brunch at the World Famous House of Blues in Los Angeles on Sunday, May 18th from 9 a.m - Noon. Looking forward to seeing you there if you are attending. Their special guests include actress Jamie Lee Curtis and comedian Marlee Matlin!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 14th, 2008 at 10:14 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.